Missouri Breaks Tactics

[MtnBum]

I’d be interested to hear some of your guys tactics for hunting the breaks. My brother and I did a trip there at the end of September for 10 days. Yeah there’s a lot of hunters but there were less ppl than I expected to see. We started out going up river about 6mi and posted camp along side the river and hunted the breaks for the first two days. With an abundance of mosquitoes my brother decided he’d had enough and wanted to move locations not be as remote and camp a little further from the river. We got into three good muleys day one and put a stock on a decent 6pt, a spike, and 4 cows that first day and got to 35yds and the wind flipped. After moving we decided to hunt the river bottoms in the cotton woods and seemed to have the most action there with my brother having a clear miss (deflecting off a small branch) on a giant bull. With that being said I plan to hunt the cottonwoods next year and plan on bringing a tree stand along with. Ideally I would like to hunt the islands with a tree stand but I don’t think I can talk my brother into that with the combo of mud and bugs included. I’d like to hear some other ppl’s experiences/tactics for the breaks. I learned this year that I’d almost rather go earlier than we did in hopes of avoiding the rain like we had, we were still getting out in the rain but it’s a terrible thing over there and it seemed like everyone stays at camp in the rain except us.

 

[Beendare]

I know a MT res that jet boats up the river many miles to get away from the riff raff.....

 

[Forest]

I'm not patient enough to hunt elk out of a stand ha. But I know some do with success at times. I've hunted across a good majority of the breaks and tactics can certainly change depending the area, varies a fair bit actually. Roads, people, private vs public land, etc etc. Seems to be mostly spot and stalk, occasionally calling can work but have had it do more harm than good actually

 

[Trial153]

Hope it doenst rain.....

 

[Forest]

Hope it doenst rain.....

Good point. Doesn't matter if hunting off the water or on top from the roads, but rain will stop almost all hunting in the breaks ha

 

[MtnBum]

Yeah I realized that the rain makes for some of the craziest mud I’ve ever experienced. I would just like to avoid that damn mid because it is a huge handicap on a 10day hunt if it rains for 5 days!

 

[sneaky]

I didn't realize residents could hunt the Breaks every year. Thought it was draw for everything.

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[mtmuley]

I didn't realize residents could hunt the Breaks every year. Thought it was draw for everything.

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It is. mtmuley

 

[MtnBum]

I didn't realize residents could hunt the Breaks every year. Thought it was draw for everything.

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You can hunt the breaks for deer without drawing but you’ve got to draw to hunt elk in both archery and general.

 

[mtmuley]

Since we are in the elk forum, I didn't point that out. Awesome place to hunt elk. I just wish that the archery permits were cut some. Rifle too for that matter. mtmuley

 

[Forest]

Since we are in the elk forum, I didn't point that out. Awesome place to hunt elk. I just wish that the archery permits were cut some. Rifle too for that matter. mtmuley

Totally agree, one of the many reasons I have started hunting later archery is because there are so many tags and majority of people like to hunt early-mid season. There are a lot of elk in most of the breaks, yet you can still go days without seeing elk. Just way too much pressure!!! Rifle isn't any better, in fact a lot of times worse. So many blessed cow tags these days. Incredible amount of pressure from early sept to end of November.....

 

[MtnBum]

Since we are in the elk forum, I didn't point that out. Awesome place to hunt elk. I just wish that the archery permits were cut some. Rifle too for that matter. mtmuley

You make a good point, they do need to cut back and lessen the amount of allotted tags

 

[mtmuley]

The Missouri Breaks could be a world class elk producer with some careful management. Probly piss off the "opportunity" guys, but so what? Forest, maybe I'm not the norm, but I've hunted out there twice for elk, a total of 30 days or so. I saw elk every single day. I just think things could be better. mtmuley

 

[sneaky]

The Missouri Breaks could be a world class elk producer with some careful management. Probly piss off the "opportunity" guys, but so what? Forest, maybe I'm not the norm, but I've hunted out there twice for elk, a total of 30 days or so. I saw elk every single day. I just think things could be better. mtmuley

How did your hunt go this year? Any luck?

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[Forest]

Forest, maybe I'm not the norm, but I've hunted out there twice for elk, a total of 30 days or so. I saw elk every single day. I just think things could be better. mtmuley

Ya I don't mean to make it sound like the norm, and certainly not for our crew. But it is amazing how many people I have talked to that go many days without seeing elk, or at least on public ground. Generally speaking its the road type crowd, but has happened to me as well! Can be there one day, gone the next, and back the third. Just never know ha!

 

[belly-deep]

I’d almost rather go earlier than we did in hopes of avoiding the rain like we had

You can get rain anytime in September. I wouldn't factor that into your plans.

 

[bsnedeker]

Yeah I realized that the rain makes for some of the craziest mud I’ve ever experienced. I would just like to avoid that damn mid because it is a huge handicap on a 10day hunt if it rains for 5 days!

That is an understatement! I hunted the breaks this year with a resident who had drawn the tag. We went out on a rainy Sunday...one of the most miserable days of hunting I've ever had! My boots each weighed about 10 pounds with all the caked on mud.

 

[Dos Perros]

So Ima take a moment to puff out my chest and say we killed our first elk in the Breaks this year, in the rain. Indeed it was a couple miserable days of hunting but then our efforts paid off on day 3. We called him in with a combination of bugles and cow calls. This was Oct 1. We were still into elk the first two days (glassing and calling), and that kept us going. Having a large tent with a heater made all the difference in the world. I would have hated to try to muster the will to be out there before dark in cold/wet clothes and boots.

 

[MtnBum]

So Ima take a moment to puff out my chest and say we killed our first elk in the Breaks this year, in the rain. Indeed it was a couple miserable days of hunting but then our efforts paid off on day 3. We called him in with a combination of bugles and cow calls. This was Oct 1. We were still into elk the first two days (glassing and calling), and that kept us going. Having a large tent with a heater made all the difference in the world. I would have hated to try to muster the will to be out there before dark in cold/wet clothes and boots.

Yeah if I draw the tag again I will be bringing a few things and doing some things different because when it rains half the trip it can be w little uncomfortable climbing out of the soaked tent every morning with just jetboils for heat. I learned a huge amount this year in the breaks and it will be very helpful taking that info into the following years that I get fortunate enough to draw it.

 

[jvonbank]

I've hunted in the breaks 7 times over the last 15 or so years. I think it is a really fun place to elk hunt on public land where you can see elk most days with some really good ones thrown in every year. It certainly is a challenge to get them though with how open much of the country is. I spend pretty much all my time off the river and up in the breaks, often hunting within a mile of the roads. Get up on top, glass until you find them, then go after them. As long as it is dry, walking there isn't too bad and the bugs were just about nonexistent except for the wet year when they could just about carry you away. We've really only had rain issues a couple times and when it comes it can be miserable.

Later,
Jared

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